The Heel Hook is one of BJJ’s most effective leg locks. Many grappling trainees and masters use it, as one, to defeat their opponents quickly. This leg lock works on all levels, including novice and advanced grapplers, by allowing you to submit the opponent unexpectedly (targeting the leg.)
The Heel Hook is a highly practical submission that will make the opponent exceptionally uncomfortable, as you can inflict tons of physical pain using it. I recommend asking someone you trust to try it on you to understand its capacity to inflict pain. You’ll see how unbearable this experience can be.
And also, it’s fairly easy to learn, making it more attractive to people starting with leg locks. So, alright, let’s now discuss what this article will do for you.
This article can be your go-to guide to perfecting the Heel Hook. Unfortunately, most novice grapplers will make the same mistakes when learning this leg lock. Well, I’ll save you a lot of time experimenting with it by telling you what to look out for and how to fix these mistakes.
You’ll be able to learn the basic steps and variations and fix the common mistakes most novice grapplers (and some advanced ones) make. And trust me, it’ll save you a lot of time.
In short, here’s what we’ll go through in this leg lock breakdown:
- How to Heel Hook
- Variations
- Tips
- Q&A
- How to Set It Up
- Practical solutions to common mistakes
- Conclusion
How to Heel Hook
Alright, fellas, I’m glad you joined me in our journey to perfecting the Heel Hook. This submission can be extremely painful if you perform it correctly. You’ll notice how your opponents tap out remarkably fast when you perform it appropriately.
You’ll learn a trick to apply pressure differently, allowing you to manipulate the opponent’s leg and make it that much more painful.
So, without further introduction, let’s dive into the step-by-step guide to performing the Heel Hook correctly.
Step #1 – Start standing up
The first step is to start standing up. I know I know; what can I say about this step? Well, there’s already a mistake many novice grapplers make in this step.
Many novice grapplers allow their opponents to get into their closed or open guard positions before they even start targeting the leg. Therefore, you want to start thinking about the Heel Hook when you have more space between you and the opponent.
You’ll need to break the opponent’s closed guard and pass it if he gets into it. So you want to avoid that at all costs.
So remember, if the opponent is in closed or even open guard, you’re not in the best position to perform this leg lock. So instead, start performing it before that happens.
Step #2 – Step forward
The 2nd step will be to step forward. You want to be closer to the opponent now. He’ll likely be able to get into his closed guard if you hesitate in this step.
So once you step into the opponent’s safe zone, you want to start working quickly.
You probably have noticed that leg locks, in general, are very technical. However, you also want to act quickly, as the opponent will be able to react and leave you vulnerable if you take your time. So make sure to start performing the next step right after stepping forward.
Do that—and your win-loss ratio will skyrocket when you use the Heel Hook.
Step #3 – Grab the opponent’s foot
The 3rd step will be to grab the opponent’s foot. This is the first step you’ll take to gain control over the opponent’s leg. You’ll soon create space between you and the opponent to isolate the leg eventually.
The first step in every BJJ submission is to isolate the body part you’re going for. So, for example, you want to isolate the opponent’s arm if you’re going for the Kimura or Americana.
The same applies here. You must isolate the opponent’s leg in order to perform the Heel Hook. The opponent can resist your offensive means if you don’t separate it, such as by using his hands or hips to escape.
You want to use the grip by catching the foot (grabbing it from the side that’s not facing you.) Indeed, the grip you want to use will get you most of the control. It’ll most often be by grabbing it from the side that’s not facing you. That’ll give you more leverage to work with later on.
BJJ is like chess. It’s all about control. To control the opponent, and the fight is yours. The grip that’ll help you do that is an overhook of the heel. Try it and see how much more control you have rather than gripping it from the side facing you.
Step #4 – Create space by using your other leg
The 4th step’s purpose is to allow you more space to work with. Again, your aim is to isolate the opponent’s leg (as previously mentioned.) Therefore, you want to remove all possible distractions, such as the other leg, head, and arms.
You want to push the opponent’s other leg with your other leg. So let’s say you target the opponent’s right leg, and you want to use your right leg to push his left leg back. The space you’ll create in this swift motion will allow you to get the Heel Hook more often.
Of course, if you target the opponent’s left leg, you want to use your left leg to push away his right leg.
Finally, the best grip you can use in this instance is by pushing down on the knee. That’s the most suitable way to do it without giving yourself too much trouble pushing, especially if your training partner is bigger than you.
Step #5 – Push the opponent’s other knee down
The next step will be to push the opponent’s other knee down. You’ve created space in the last step. Now we want to create even more space so that you can isolate the opponent’s leg smoothly.
You’ll see many novice grapplers who skip this step to perform the submission as soon as possible. Well, that is a reasonably rash decision they make, as they’re more likely to mess it up than get it right.
So you want to ensure you create as much space as possible. And if you see the opponent making a wrong move and wish to utilize it, go ahead and do that. Create another step that’ll eventually help you finish the submission efficiently.
Step #6 – Lean back
The next step will be to lean back. This is the isolation maneuver you want to perfect, as it’s here that you’ll grab the opponent’s leg and lean as far back as possible.
By now, your training partner should know what you’re up to. So, you want to lean back quickly while advancing to the next step quickly. You’ll see why that’s important in a second.
Leaning back will allow you to isolate the opponent’s leg. All that’s left now is to attack.
Step #7 – Wrap your leg around the leg you’re targeting
This step is all about locking the opponent in place. You want to ensure the isolated part (his leg) can’t move. You want to close it as firmly as possible to prevent any movement.
Your opponent might roll, and that’s alright. You can follow his rolls to ensure you stay in place. If he rolls to the right, your roll to your left. If you want to learn more tips like that to become more successful with leg locks, follow this link.
Step #8 – Lock your legs together
So in what way do you wrap your legs? Your leg should already be wrapped around the opponent. What’s left for you is to bring your other leg over the isolated leg and lock them together. You’ll have a lock similar to the closed guard, preventing the opponent from escaping your Heel Hook.
Now that you’ve locked your legs, the opponent can maneuver himself out of your dominant position. As a result, you can utilize your superior position to advance in the steps and continue outperforming your partner.
Typically, novice grapplers won’t skip this step since it’s common sense that a firm lock will determine whether the opponent can escape.
So if you’re a novice grappler, ensure you grasp all the steps well before moving forward.
Step #9 – Turn to the side
Turning to the side here isn’t something you see that often. However, your goal is to create as much pressure as possible. Therefore, bending the opponent’s leg (what we’re doing by turning to the side) will allow you to create more force.
So after you lock your legs together, you want to turn to the side. Not skipping this step will be worth it, allowing you to finish more fights smoothly.
Once you lock your legs, it’s all about pressure. So ensure you keep this step in mind when you’re just about to finish the Heel Hook.
Step #10 – Lock your hands (cable grip)
The 10th step is to lock your hands around the opponent’s leg. Then, as the name Heel Hook suggests, you’re about to drive extreme amounts of force on the opponent’s heel.
You’ll bend the opponent’s leg (more on that later) to eventually create more pressure. But it would be best to forget that your opponent can still resist. He can resist because he has leg muscles (which are particularly strong.)
But you can use your entire body to resist his resistance (mind the pun) and finish the move. You will need, however, to lock your hands together for that to happen (if you want your arms to help you.)
Step #11 – Turn your hips in the direction of the opponent’s leg
By this step, you’re finished with the Heel Hook setup. Now we want to apply as much pressure as possible on the opponent’s heel. How do we do that?
Well, we first want to turn our hips toward the opponent’s leg. That will bend his leg, allowing you to advance to step #12 and finish the submission.
Step #12 – Turn your upper body in the other direction
The 2nd part of the finishing blow will be to turn your upper body in the other direction. Doing so will create immense leg pressure, forcing the opponent to tap.
Be cautious when turning your upper body, as that will drive most of the pressure, forcing the opponent to tap out. Observe your partner’s reaction. Release all pressure immediately when he taps out; don’t wait for him to get injured.
Step #13 – Wait for the tap
So yes, the last step will be to wait for the tap. Leg locks can be extremely dangerous because there’s a thin line between finishing the fight and permanently injuring the opponent.
That’s why white belts don’t learn leg locks. However, leg locks are highly effective, so you must use them cautiously.
Once the opponent taps, release all pressure immediately.
So this was the step-by-step breakdown. Let’s advance to the following part, variations you want to know to become a better grappler.
Heel Hook Variations
This part will be about the different variations you want to learn when you master the Heel Hooks. Learning all of them will allow you to become a more competent grappler, capable of using a lot of entries and fight approaches.
Alright, so without further ado, let’s dive into the first one.
Variation #1 – Heel Hook From Closed Guard
The Heel Hook from the closed guard is a highly effective variation. It’s also beautiful, so I’m a big fan of it.
I recommend starting learning it after you experiment with the variation we’ve broken down in the 1st part of the article.
It’s the simplest one that will build a solid foundation when you learn these variations.
- Start in closed guard
- Wait for the opponent to try and pass you
- Grab his heel
- Create space by pushing the leg
- Wrap your leg around
- Lift your hips
- Push the opponent’s leg
- Lock the Triangle lock
- Isolate the leg
- Turn
- Wait for the tap
Variation #2 – Heel Hook From 50/50
The 2nd variation we’ll review in this part is the Heel Hook from 50/50. If you aren’t familiar with the basic pre-leg lock positions, I recommend following the link to read about the absolute must-know pre-leg lock positions.
Anyways, here’s how you perform the 50/50 variation.
- Start in the open guard position
- Let the opponent pass you
- Keep your distance
- Twist your body
- Wrap your legs around the opponent’s leg
- Push the opponent
- Enter the 50/50 position
- Catch his foot in your armpit
- Lock your hands
- Rotate the opponent’s foot
- Move your shoulder down
- Wait for the tap
Variation #3 – Standing Heel Hook
The standing Heel Hook is the variation we’ve broken down in the 1st part of the article. So I don’t think I need to expand further, as you probably have seen the number of words I wrote on it. But, hopefully, you guys have understood the force you now hold in your hands.
You can break someone’s foot by using this technique. You can also dislocate someone’s knee using this standing Heel Hook. Please be careful when applying pressure.
In MMA fights, the fighters don’t release pressure until the referee tells them to. They don’t want to risk not winning the fight, so they usually injure their opponent badly when they perform any leg lock, especially the Heel Hook.
Anyways, the standing variation should be the first one you learn. You want to do anything in your ability to build a solid foundation going in the future. And learning the simplest variation will help you do that.
Variation #4 – Heel Hook From Open Guard
The last variation will discuss the Heel Hook from the open guard position. Now starting, the 2nd variation will also be from the open guard. But they’re different.
This is much quicker to execute, as the process has fewer steps. However, it’s also more complicated than the standing Heel Hook. Let’s see how you can perform it yourself:
- Start in the open guard position
- Place both your feet on the opponent’s thighs
- Wrap your leg around the future isolated opponent’s leg
- Push his other leg using your other leg
- Lock your legs together
- Twist his ankle
- Wait for the tap
Remember, stick with the 3rd variation as the first one you learn for quicker results (quicker results = more motivation = more results.)
Before diving into the fundamentals of the Heel Hook, follow this link if you want to learn about the Kneebar, another extremely effective leg lock.
Heel Hook Tips
The next part will be about tips to perform the Heel Hook flawlessly. You want to perfect your execution, so you can finish more fights using it.
These tips solve the mistakes most novice grapplers make when first learning the Heel Hook.
I recommend implementing each tip at a time and building muscle memory for them. You won’t be able to do so if you’re implementing them all simultaneously.
Tip #1 – Twist the opponent’s legs
The first tip is to twist the opponent’s legs before applying pressure. What this accomplishes is more pressure when you finish the submission.
The Heel Hook is a mighty leg lock that will allow you to cause a high amount of physical pain and force the opponent to tap out.
Twisting the opponent’s leg will eventually bend his leg, allowing you more turning pressure when you turn your body and wait for the tap.
Tip #2 – Roll with the opponent
The 2nd tip will be to follow the opponent when he rolls. Your opponent will want to escape your leg lock. You want to do anything you can, not allow him to do that. The most common escape method is to roll and sweep the isolated leg out of the lock.
And what’s the best response to that escape method from the offensive part, one might ask? That’s to roll with the opponent and go for the finish. You can roll for several minutes, but the opponent will stop after a few rolls.
You want to utilize that and go for the finish between rolls or when he gives up.
Tip #3 – Lack of friction (sweat)
When you’re fighting, especially in MMA (shirtless), your opponent and you will sweat. Now that can be more detrimental than you think. What sweat does is make you more slippery?
Now that’s good and bad. It’s positive because you’ll be more evasive, but the opponent will be too. So you will be required to react to that and be prepared for the opponent’s legs to be more slippery. Rolling and escaping your leg lock, then, will be easier.
Tip #4 – Learn all the variations
The 4th tip is to learn all the variations. The Heel Hook can be quite complicated, especially all the variations other than the one we’ve broken down in the first part.
Learning all the variations will be helpful because you’ll become a more dynamic fighter. Being dynamic is everything in self-defense and fighting. Likewise, you’ll know how to face different opponents—from other martial arts—and beat them by using the most suitable Heel Hook variation.
Tip #5 – Understand each step’s purpose
Each step has a purpose. You don’t want only to memorize them, but you also want to understand where each step comes from. Your proficiency will skyrocket if you grasp what the moves and techniques are here to do.
For example, when you push the opponent, you create space. Then, if you find any other way to create space, you can use it. As a result, you’ll be able to be more unexpected that way—and thus—become a more adaptive grappler.
Understand the purpose of each move in the Heel Hook, and you’ll understand the technique and be well on your way to perfecting it.
How to Set Up the Heel Hook
Setting up the Heel Hook isn’t complicated. What you first need to do is learn the variations. Then, depending on the variation you’re going for, the first step will be different each time.
So let’s say you’re going for the open guard variation; you want to begin by being in the bottom and the guard position. So the setup this time will be to enter the open guard.
So let me clarify another point: you must learn various pre-leg lock positions. For example, the Saddle, 50/50, and the Ashi Garami are some of the most common.
Knowing these will help you get the leg lock submission more often. So definitely go ahead and try them out yourself. Here’s an excellent video that demonstrates some of these pre-leg lock submissions.
Final words
The Heel Hook is an exceptionally effective leg lock, perhaps the most effective one. Therefore, you want to learn it when you’re starting to learn leg locks, and when you attain the brown belt is a perfect time.
You’ll suddenly become capable of targeting the opponent’s lower body and creating more offensive entries. By this point, on the other hand, you should already be familiar with leg lock defensive moves. So you want to focus on the offensive side of things.
Writing this guide was a lot of fun because it forced me to keep learning more about the beautiful art of BJJ. It also forces me to step out of my comfort zone and challenge my current knowledge.
This is what Blinklift is about. It’s about learning and improving yourself while remaining humble and challenging your current beliefs and values. So hopefully, you’ll keep learning from this blog and Blinklift’s YouTube channel.
Although the Heel Hook is definitely a top leg lock in BJJ, there are others you must learn to call yourself a competent grappler. Follow this link to learn about BJJ & MMA’s best leg locks you must learn.
And here are other articles you will like reading if you read thus far into this article:
Estima Lock BJJ Complete Guide